Manama : Saudi Arabia is considering overhauling its government and economy by 2020, extending the timeline of some targets and removing others entirely, various news agencies reported yesterday.
The new version of the National Transformation Program (NTP) launched over a year ago will be more focused and have...

Rabat : Morocco has been added to a list of countries whose citizens no longer need visas to enter Qatar, official Moroccan media has said.
Qatar, hit by a land and air embargo imposed by a group of its most powerful neighbours, in early August introduced a visa-free entry programme for 80 nationalities to stimulate...

Dubai : Saudi Arabia’s equities index firmed yesterday because of strong oil prices while Qatar fell to its lowest close since January 2016 after index compiler FTSE’s mid-year review hurt some stocks.
Brent oil was around $53.50 a barrel, slightly above its level when the Saudi market traded...

Doha : Kuwaiti Oil Minister Essam al-Marzouk has said he expects oil prices to stay between $50 and $55 a barrel and that the market will rebalance by the end of the year.
Marzouk, who heads an oil producers’ committee that monitors compliance to output cuts, told Kuwait’s Al-Rai newspaper in an interview...

Riyadh : The Saudi High Court on Monday said nobody reported having seen the new crescent moon of Dhul-Hijja month. The court added that it will hold a session later on Tuesday to issue its decision according to testimonies reported by witnesses, if any, regarding the birth of the new crescent moon, as customary,...

Dubai : Authorities in the United Arab Emirates have banned a leading business website and magazine for one month for allegedly publishing false news on failed real estate projects in Dubai.
Arabian Business has withdrawn the report, entitled "51 Dubai projects under liquidation process," and posted an apology...

Washington : US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis reaffirmed America's strategic security partnership with Qatar on Thursday, the Pentagon said, amid a diplomatic crisis in the Gulf.
It was also announced that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will travel to Kuwait -- the key mediator in the crisis -- on July 10 to discuss...

Doha : The United States agreed a $12-billion warplane sale to Qatar and began manoeuvres with its military yesterday amid a diplomatic crisis with its neighbours.
A deal for the “state-of-the-art” F-15 fighters was signed by Qatar in Washington.
US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis welcomed his Qatari...

Riyadh : Saudi Arabia and its allies Saturday welcomed an accusation by President Donald Trump that Qatar was bankrolling extremism but ignored a separate US call for them to ease their economic blockade.
Trump's comments came as Washington joins intensifying international efforts to heal the worsening rift between...

Washington : US President Donald Trump yesterday called out Qatar as a historic supporter of “terrorism,” urging both the Gulf emirate and its regional neighbours to do more to combat extremism.
“The nation of Qatar, unfortunately, has historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high...

Doha : President Donald Trump called Qatar’s emir yesterday and offered US help to resolve a damaging feud between the emirate and its Gulf neighbours.
Trump’s call to Qatari ruler Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, a key US ally, came as a senior Emirati official said that Gulf Arab states were...

Dubai : The United Arab Emirates on Wednesday condemned twin attacks claimed by the Islamic State group that killed at least 12 people in the Iranian capital.
"Our position on terrorism is very clear ... Any terrorist attack in any country, in any capital, directed at innocent people is something that the UAE...

Dubai : Measures taken by the United Arab Emirates and other nations against Qatar are aimed at pressuring Doha into changing its policies, not at overthrowing its regime, a senior UAE official told AFP on Wednesday.
"We have now reached a cul-de-sac in terms of trying to convince Qatar to change course," UAE...

Riyadh : Mauritius Republic said it has severed its diplomatic ties with Qatar after several Gulf and Arab countries took similar decisions.
Following this announcement by Mauritius, the Mauritian Deputy Prime Minister's Office said it supports the measures taken by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other countries...

Tehran : Iran's foreign ministry on Monday urged Qatar and neighbouring Gulf Arab countries that have severed diplomatic ties with the gas-rich peninsula to engage in dialogue.
"The solution to differences between states in the region, including the current problem between Qatar and its three neighbours, is only...

Taipei : Emirates, the Middle East's largest airline, faced fierce criticism in Taiwan Wednesday after it reportedly banned cabin crew from wearing the island's flag on their uniforms due to pressure from China.
China still sees self-ruling Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunified and tensions between the two...

Riyadh : Saudi Aramco is to build the region's biggest shipyard in a $5.2 billion joint venture with South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries and others, the partners said on Wednesday.
The yard, to be constructed on the kingdom's Gulf coast, will have the capacity to produce four offshore rigs and 40 vessels,...

Riyadh : The world's nearly 1.5 billion Muslims on Saturday began Ramadan, the holy month of dawn-to-dusk fasting and prayers.
It is sacred to Muslims because tradition says the Quran was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed during that month.
Here are four questions and answers about Ramadan:

Riyadh : A Saudi appeals court has ordered about a dozen people accused of negligence in a deadly 2015 crane collapse at Islam’s holiest site to stand trial again, newspapers reported yesterday.
By a vote of five to two, the appeals judges overturned the Mecca criminal court’s decision that it...

Istanbul : Global energy markets are moving in the right direction after oil prices fell to historic lows due to oversupply, Qatar’s energy minister said yesterday, praising OPEC members for their adherence to a “successful” November deal to cut production.
Minister of Energy and Industry...

Kuwait City : A suspected member of the Islamic State group has confessed to plotting attacks on targets in Kuwait including the US military and a religious hall, local media reported Wednesday.
Judicial sources said Hussein al-Dhafiri, arrested with his wife in the Philippines last month, confessed to planning...

Doha : Two Qatari hunters who endured a 16-month hostage ordeal in Iraq spoke Sunday of their joy at being released, in the first public comments since the group were freed.
Mohammed Marzouki was among 24 Qataris and two Saudis who were on a hunting trip in a mainly rebel area of southern Iraq when they were...

Abu Dhabi : Saudi Arabia’s energy minister said yesterday that oil-producing countries might have to prolong output cuts agreed for the first six months of the year in order to achieve the desired rebalancing of the market.
“We might have to extend in order to reach the target... of stock...

Doha : Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte arrived in Doha on an official visit to the country last night .
In reception of the President upon arrival to Hamad International Airport were Minister of Energy and Industry Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada, Ambassador of Qatar to the Philippines Ali bin Ibrahim Al Malki,...

Riyadh : Saudi Arabia raised $9 billion in its first global Islamic bond issue, the government announced on Thursday, a move analysts say could ease pressure on foreign reserves.
The sale of Islamic bonds, known as sukuks, comes after the kingdom in October turned to the conventional global debt market for the first...

Riyadh : Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte arrived Monday night in Saudi Arabia, where economic troubles forced the repatriation of thousands of his citizens still waiting for their salaries.
Filipino organisations in the Gulf kingdom, which still hosts almost 800,000 workers...

Riyadh : The Saudi Royal Court mourned the death of Prince Saad bin Faisal bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud who passed away today.In a statement today, the Royal Court said that the funeral prayer would be held tomorrow – Tuesday – after Asr prayer at Mecca Grand Mosque.

Muscut : Oman has condemned the two terrorist attacks that hit Mar Girgis Church in Tanta City of Egypt and Saint Mark's Church in Al Raml Station in Alexandria.In a statement issued by the Omani Foreign Ministry, the Sultanate expressed its full solidarity with the government and people of the sisterly Arab Republic...

Riyadh : Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has telephoned Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, expressing his sincere condolences to the president and the Egyptian people on the victims of terrorist acts in the cities of Tanta and Alexandria. The king consoled the families of...

Riyadh : British Prime Minister Theresa May held talks with Saudi officials yesterday, hoping to tap the oil-rich kingdom’s “immense potential” as she looks to secure post-Brexit investment and trade.
The visit also comes less than a week after Britain officially started a two-year countdown...

Sweimeh : Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met Saudi King, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on the sidelines of an Arab summit in Jordan yesterday to break the ice after months of apparent tensions between the allies.
The meeting, in which Salman invited Sisi to visit...

The US-led anti-jihadist coalition said Tuesday it "probably" played a role in civilian casualties in west Mosul, as the UN and Amnesty International called for greater efforts to protect civilians.
Hundreds of thousands of civilians are still inside west Mosul, caught up in...

Amman : Saudi Arabia is to set up a $3 billion joint investment fund for Jordan, among 15 cooperation agreements signed by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud during a visit to Amman, state media said Tuesday.
Other agreements include measures to boost power generation, tackle...

Dubai : Amazon will acquire the Middle East's largest online retailer Souq.com, the two companies said in a statement on Tuesday without disclosing the value of the deal.
The announcement comes a day after Dubai-based Emaar Malls confirmed offering $800 million to acquire Souq.com.
Amazon had walked away from talks...

Kuwait City : OPEC and non-OPEC producers began meetings in Kuwait on Sunday to assess the impact of a milestone production cuts deal and to decide on whether to recommend they be extended.
Kuwait Oil Minister Essam al-Marzouk, who heads a joint ministerial committee tasked with overseeing compliance to the...

Cairo : Hosni Mubarak, the former Egyptian autocrat toppled during the 2011 Arab Spring, left a military hospital on Friday where he spent much of the last six years in detention.
The release of the 88-year old who ruled Egypt for three decades would have been unthinkable several years ago, but revolutionary fervour...

Abu Dhabi : A UAE court has sentenced an Indian expat to 10 years in prison followed by deportation for espionage, local press reported Thursday.
An Abu Dhabi appeals court found an unnamed man guilty of "sharing sensitive information about movements of military ships" with an unspecified country, according to the...

Washington : The United States and Britain yesterday banned larger electronic devices from the passenger cabin on flights from some airports in Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa. American officials warned that extremists are seeking “innovative” ways to attack airliners with smaller explosive...

Beijing : China and Saudi Arabia yesterday signed deals worth tens of billions of dollars as President Xi Jinping welcomed Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on a state visit, Beijing said.
The visit by the King comes as China pursues a charm offensive towards the Middle East, where it has...

Washington : Saudi Arabia has termed a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House a “historic turning point” in its relations with the United States.The meeting on Tuesday was the first since Trump’s January 20 inauguration with the Deputy...

Manama : A leading Indian businessman based in the GCC, including Bahrain, who was sentenced to three years in jail in Dubai, will soon be released.
Atlas Group Chairman MM Ramachandran, 76, was charged by the Dubai Misdemeanor Court in November 2015 for cases related to Dh53 million in bounced...

Kuwait City : Kuwait is building one of the world's longest causeways to its remote north where it will pump billions into "Silk City", aiming to revive the ancient Silk Road trade route.
The oil-rich emirate is eager to inject life into the uninhabited...

Riyadh : Oscar winning actor Al Pacino and America’s top female talk show host Oprah Winfrey will visit Saudi Arabia as part of the General Entertainment Authority schedule for 2017.
Pacino is set to be in the kingdom on May 11 and 12, where he will be talking to a television show about his journeys and...

Dubai : Dubai authorities are grappling with new ways of keeping the emirate's skies safe after drones halted air traffic at one of the world's busiest airports three times last year.
The delays were necessary to protect passengers, officials said, but they hit thousands of travellers and cost airlines millions of...

Riyadh : Saudi Arabia on Thursday releases its first budget since announcing a wide-ranging economic reform plan after collapsed oil prices led to one of the highest deficits in the developing world.
"Tough measures" including subsidy cuts are expected as the kingdom seeks to balance the books by 2020, the Arab News...

Manama : A meeting between US President – elect Donald Trump and His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa would send a warning to enemies in the Middle East (ME), according to an American daily.
When Trump looks to the broader Middle East for allies he will find no leader more reliable and trustworthy...

Doha : Qatar, the world's largest liquified natural gas producer, announced on Sunday it is to merge state-owned Qatargas and RasGas to create a "truly unique global energy operator".
Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, president and chief executive of state-owned Qatar Petroleum, said the move to the merger would begin right...

Riyadh : A performance in Saudi Arabia by US stand-up comedian and actor Mike Epps has been cancelled, its organisers said, after complaints from Islamic hardliners.
The show, scheduled for next week, was one of numerous events lined up to begin introducing entertainment to kingdom.
“Dear clients, we...

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